ManBird

Yeah, a Stiletto 150 won't cut it. The guys I've flown pretty well with are usually loaded around 2.5 - 3, and have the experience to do so. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Sounds just a like a Crossbow... a floating air hockey puck. ;) I'm actually interested in the S-Fly (Loic's new version). It's a whole different sensation, I'm sure. I haven't flown any Crossbow/derivatives, but have seen them in the air a bit, and have observed exactly what you described... floaty, little forward speed, and unresponsive turns that are more like big slides. I didn't see a better fall rate... even over the GTi, but did note that it takes less strength to maintain the optimum fall rate. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

I've found that you lose a lot of altitude in quick turns while doing canopy/WS RW. The best technique we've found is as follows: 1. Leave the plane shortly after the canopy pilot (no more than five seconds). 2. Both of you should track off the line of flight 90°. The wingsuit pilot should track very "knees down", or do S-turns to not out-track the canopy pilot too much. 3. The canopy pilot should open within about 1500 - 2000 feet of exit altitude. 4. The canopy pilot should start flying back down the line of flight, and the WS flyer should follow him/her. 5. Sink the WS down and forwards towards the canopy. The angle of descent shouldn't be too steep. 6. As you approach the canopy pilot from behind and slightly to the side, plane out to match the fall rate and slide over to move close to the canopy pilot. Fly a solid A-frame for lift and bend/drop your knees just enough to keep from outdriving the canopy. You should be able to fly together pretty dang well for quite a bit of time, so long as the canopy is pretty loaded. Great pics by the way. Very fun stuff. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

That's not a wingsuit. It's a carbon fibre that is based on the Skyray (http://www.skyray.de). felix's particular wing is a super-sized version that allows a better glide ratio for those lacking in skill. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Definitely get the LQRS. It comes in handy and ups the value quite a bit if you ever decide to sell it (especially if the buyer is a BASE jumper). I lost a bootie (on the same side as my LQRS) after a front loop. No big deal to keep flying like that, but I found that when I went to unzip the leg, there was too much slack to get the tension needed to pull the zipper open, and I had to pull the LQRS. This is more of an issue if you swoop/land downwind, which I usually do. The LQRS came in handy on this last reserve ride, as well. I was in a situation where I really needed to work to get back to the DZ under my reserve, and definitely didn't have time to get either leg open, and just went for the LQRS. This would also be the story if you BASEd it, if you aren't willing to waddle your landings out, or if you are in a crappy landing area. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

I agree. I use double fronts to sink it in more. I'm working on removing a bad habit of overshooting or planing out too high, and double fronts seem to be the best form of correction. A great piece of advice that I got from hookitt has been working very well for me: "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Just to note... this achievement is made even greater in light of the felix debacle. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Would this be at all similar to the fifth upper control line mod on BASE canopies (as far as the effect goes)? "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Good call. This was a major factor contributing to a PC in tow (not on a BASE jump, of course) that resulted a reserve ride (and the theft of my main), and I've had a few other weak pulls due to this, as well... especially as you near or clear the three minute mark on a skydive (or the two minute mark on a BASE jump in Yuri's case), you really lose a lot right at the end. Be extra careful with PC packing as well. One PC pack job that seems totally normal on a jump without a wingsuit can turn into a very hard pull after a completely maxed out flight. I've never done any weight training before in my life, and exercised very little for a long time up until I got my S3. Now I'm lifting like crazy and running around for no reason. My flight times have increased a good 45 - 55 seconds from where I was just three months ago (though I still get the same amount of fatigue, if not more). A nice side effect is the attention from the ladies... oh yeah. Well... my girlfriend in this case. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Here's my ultra-simple-but-all-too-true rule for deciding which canopy is appropriate for wingsuit flights: If you can spiral the canopy with harness input, don't fly it with a wingsuit. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

I knew you had it coming up. Congratulations! Seems as though the bar for both BASE and skydiving freefall times has gone up 60 seconds over the past year or so. Let's hope it goes up at least another minute this time next year. :) "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

In looking back at my log book to tally up my wingsuit jumps, I recently discovered that my first wingsuit jump was 260. I don't log to a book very often (ProTrack). I found that I had 40 more wingsuit jumps (~280) than I thought I had, and started flying wingsuits about 80 jumps earlier than I though I had. Oops! Note: I did a LOT of preparation (dozens of wingsuit-style tracking dives, memorized the manual, tons and tons and tons of practice pulls on the ground and practice exits on the mockup). I didn't have formal instruction, but got a lot of advice from experienced flyers, online, on the phone and in person. I strongly believe that the individual matters more than the jump numbers. Someone with 260 jumps that hasn't really thought about it should get training. Someone with 260 jumps that got into the sport because of wingsuits and has worked towards it for a long time will fare better. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

I'll overlook your trolling and try to answer your question. With the right (and realistic) tailwind, the same distance could be covered from about 27k or 28k. While the forward speed is not that of the Skyray, the fall rate offsets the figure to give you the same or better glide ratio. The problem would be stamina. It's hard to determine whether or not anyone would be able to fly maxed out for ten minutes. It'd take quite a bit of training/exercise. Also, other Skyray flyers would have been able to do the job much better than Felix. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

The wings are pretty much guaranteed to flap unevenly. If one wing is high and one is low, it's pretty obvious that you will rotate. With them flapping rapidly, it's like they are constantly driving forward in different directions... independent of each other, causing a VERY rocky ride. If they remain deflated and behind you, it's not as big of a deal, but I'd still say pitch and don't cut the wings until you problems with your canopy. I still go for the zippers... it's what I'm used to. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Chopping the wings while still in freefall can be very unstable. I had a really bad mal experimenting with this. Flying with the wings on is not unstable at all. You only get into instability when maxing it out, which you usually aren't doing at pull time (when you first start flying). There are far better ways to fix instability in a wingsuit, should it occur, than choppings the wings. Relaxing and arching works best for most things. In the event of a severe flat spin, go into a ball. I've never experienced a flat spin myself, to be honest. Seriously, there's no reason to be scared of flying a wingsuit (unless you're attempting to fly the Skyflyer 1 or 3 for your first flights... then you should be scared). "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

There's enough room on the back of the leg, to attach stuff. I found it very easy to get a strobe on the back of my ankle on a night jump with the GTi. It should be about the same amount of room across all the suits. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Supposedly, the freefly version of Pantz is very popular with instructors, and that you get more leg power out of the Pantz than any other suit outside of a wingsuit. Supposedly, wingsuits aren't very practical for tandems. Supposedly. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Sounds like a much better headline. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

I'm thinking of buying a single pin rig (Prism, in particular). As I understand it, it stays closed when it should, opens up slightly faster, but has higher potential to distort the pack job while closing the container. Technically, this wouldn't be my first BASE rig, as I had a Reaktor 4 on which I made a handful of BASE jumps. But being that I haven't flicked off anything in awhile, it feels like my first. Though, I won't mind having it be my only BASE rig. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

I don't think so, note that in the video he was still over the ocean while under canopy. From what I'm hearing, he pulled pretty high and flew the rest of the trip under canopy and, as predicted, still claims the feat. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

I always pack grommet to pin on my Wings (which has a very "square" d-bag), but I never could on my Racer. Not that it would contribute to a PC in tow. I just bought 12 Clif bars for $9.99 (the caffeinated mint ones). Oh, yeah. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

That vid of the channel crossing shows him having a super jacked up opening with line twists, and the narrator says that he had to "cut a cord with a knife". Did that bastard pack himself a lineover? Sweet exit, though. Oh, wait... it wasn't. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Yeah, I remember those guys. One of them jumped at Perris and Elsinore. Maybe he still does. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

JC was kicking ass on his VX-111 at the PST here in Oregon. There is definitely an upsize trend for all-purpose swooping amongst the pros. However, you do see a lot of these guys flying small canopies + weight for the speed rounds. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Do you have 'Crosswind'? Show him that. You'll see big fat 240+ sq ft 7 cell BASE canopies getting swooped like bastards. Technically, you can swoop anything that isn't round. (edited to add a couple omitted words) "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click